Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin’s decision to allow several of the Fed’s emergency lending programs to expire on Dec. 31 will dramatically reduce the central bank’s ability to backstop the financial system. But people familiar with the situation say the Fed will still have considerable lending power in the event of a shock to the system. Mnuchin issued a letter Thursday saying he would not extend the Fed’s programs that used Congress’ CARES Act funds. Created in response to the financial panic that accompanied the lockdowns in the spring, those programs gave the Fed the ability to lend up to $4.5 trillion into ... (full story)